Deadpool (2016) - Film Review

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein & T.J. Miller

Screenplay: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick

Directed By: Tim Miller

Certificate: 15

 

Fun fact: I have never watched an X-Men franchise film in my life. At the time of writing this, my knowledge of the X-Men universe goes about as far as Wolverine and that's about it. Yeah … I can almost feel the X-Men fans taking up their pitchforks and burning torches. Before the first trailer for Deadpool was released, I had literally never heard of the character and I certainly didn't know anything about him. Nevertheless, the trailers looked great, action-packed and a whole load of fun, so it won over my interest. Looking back, I'm glad that I decided to watch Deadpool because it's easily the most enjoyable film of 2016 so far, and it's not hard to see why it became such a huge success.

 

Ex-soldier turned mercenary, Wade Wilson, meets and falls in love with escort Vanessa. A year later, their relationship has blossomed, but Wade's life is turned upside down when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Wade is offered the chance to partake in an experiment that will cure his cancer whilst also unlocking powerful abilities through mutation. Though he is at first reluctant, Wade eventually agrees, but the program sees him tortured by the mutant Ajax. Wade's cancer is eventually cured but he is left severely disfigured by the process. Attempting to find a cure to his disfigurement, Wade tracks down Ajax, whilst disguised as the anti-hero Deadpool.

 

Though it may not sound like it from the above synopsis, Deadpool is without doubt the funniest movie of 2016 so far. I don't think there was a scene that went by that didn't entice a laugh, and at the very least, I was left smiling. Aside from the main character himself, a constant source of all these laughs came from Wade and Weasel's friendship, and T.J. Miller plays all his scenes in such a straight way, that none of his lines fall flat. Also, and I can't explain this, but Wade's jokes about the recruitment officer being a paedophile and the “within five-hundred yards of a school” line left me in stitches. But the main reason for why Deadpool works so well from a comedy perspective, is that the character's trademarks are all here and thriving. After apparently being butchered in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (I say “apparently” because I've never personally watched the film), Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking and constant wise-cracking can be seen throughout. For me, this was best seen right at the start of the film where a “British Villain” and an “Overpaid Tool” are credited. Another reason the character works so well is down to Ryan Reynolds' superb performance. Ryan Reynolds has such a distinctive voice and expressive face, that even when he's inside the red suit, it doesn't feel restrictive at all. Deadpool will definitely become the definitive role of his career, and quite rightly, as it's his best performance to date. There are also plenty of self-deprecating Ryan Reynolds jokes to be found, including hilarious references to his role in the 2011 flop, Green Lantern.

 

But Deadpool isn't just a comedy, far from it, it's action-packed and utterly brutal. It may be a superhero film, but Deadpool certainly deserves it's adult rating, as there's blood, gore and decapitations at every turn. However, all this death and violence isn't tacky or just for the sake of it; it's instead there to better the film. Every action and fighting sequence in Deadpool feels slick and well-choreographed. It might all be a bit over the top and far-fetched, but the film's about Deadpool – it's supposed to be. Despite the simple, easy to follow plot, I really appreciated Deadpool's format, as Wade's story about his cancer diagnosis is told side by side with Deadpool's attempts to find Ajax. This gave the film the chance to open with a bang, and immediately showed audiences the Deadpool they'd come to see. Something else that was well-handled was the music score, and it had some surprising range. While X Gon' Give It To Ya is far from being anything I'll ever listen to, it suited the film's style and tone really well.

 

Even if you're like me, and you're part of the few unconverted ones when it comes to X-Men, Deadpool is still a great watch. It isn't all that closely related to the X-Men universe, so you won't need to have watched all the other X-Men films for this one to make sense. For those that have been converted, there's still plenty of great and quick references to characters like Wolverine and Professor X. As well as this, there are also some of the lesser-tier characters that make an appearance, such as Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. While I'd never heard of them before watching, they still contributed a surprising amount to the film, particularly in the final fight against Ajax and Angel Dust.

 

Another surprise when watching Deadpool, was just how many touching and heartfelt moments there were. Yes, Deadpool spends about 95% of his time cracking jokes, annoying others around him or simply skewering people, but there are times where both the characters and the film know when to be meaningful. It's in no way a serious drama or thriller, but there's still the odd moment where things are played straight. For instance, Wade and Vanessa's romance, particularly early on in the film, is really good, and who knew that a montage of the two having sex over the course of a year could be so funny yet so sweet at the same time? It makes it all the more sad once Wade is left disfigured by Ajax, and it's almost heartbreaking to watch him following Vanessa through the streets, but he hasn't got the courage to talk to her.

 

Now Deadpool is definitely the most fun time there's been at the movies so far this year, but even though it's so enjoyable, there's still the odd issue here and there. One of the film's criticisms has been that the villains, particularly Ajax are one-dimensional characters, and I have mixed feelings about this myself. Ajax is essentially just a British villain with a straightforward evil plan … and that's about it. The point is, is that I don't know whether this was deliberate or if Deadpool was aiming for something more. The opening credits simply refer to Ajax as a “British Villain”, so it could be deliberate, but at the same time, Deadpool ends up becoming one of the films it parodies so much. Another problem that I had was the character of Vanessa and how dreadfully under-used she became. Particularly in the second half of the film, Vanessa has very little to do. While she's on screen, Vanessa's a decent character and Morena Baccarin gives a good performance, but there are big chunks of the film where Vanessa becomes a non-entity.

 

So how did Deadpool fare overall? Like I've said, it's easily the most fun film of the year so far, and it's the defining role of Ryan Reynolds' career. Hilarious throughout, with plenty of gore and violence, Deadpool is the film that its lead character deserves. Once you've watched it, you'll quickly see and understand why it has become such a massive success. While the film industry seems to have just concluded that all superhero films should now have an adult rating, I really hope that isn't the case. Deadpool's success and popularity is not just because it has an adult rating; it's because it treats the main character as he deserves to be treated, so I really hope that film studios will do the same to other superheroes, rather than just slapping on an adult rating for the sake of it.

 

 

Deadpool



8/10